This man came towards me on the sidewalk and in an instant I heard myself saying, “You look amazing! Can I photograph you?” The man stopped in his tracks and said, “Wow… that’s really nice of you…sure!”
I made a few photos and a short video clip and thanked him and moved on. After he left I remembered exactly what had caused me to react so strongly. I was a teenager in the 80s and sitting in the Magic Lantern movie theater watching the 1982 film Pink Floyd – The Wall. I was so stunned by the scene where a man shaves his eyebrows. It was an homage to Pink Floyd’s original frontman Syd Barrett who left the band after a mental breakdown.
More recently we saw a monk like character Silas in Dan Brown’s Davinci Code movies who portrays an Opus Dei follower who commits severe acts of self punishment.
I suppose I was judging this book by its cover but by stopping long enough to ask permission I met someone who responding with kindness and gratitude. My camera gives me these moments that transcend the outward appearance into a moment of mutual respect.
